Guild Wars 2: Bazaar of the Four Winds goes live next week

ArenaNet has announced that the next Guild Wars 2 event, Bazaar of the Four Winds, will go live next week.

The update also denoted the firm's formalization of its promised two-week major release schedule for Guild Wars 2.

Bazaar of the Four Winds sees merchants converging from all corners of Tyria to sell their wares and there will be plenty of "shady characters and risky trade" due to the mystical flying Zephyr Sanctum landing. It bring with it "magical crystals and amazing movement skills to traders and adventurers alike."

New themed-events and the following are also included in this update:

New Events

Belcher’s Bluff Mini-game: Players can challenge their friends in this new, permanent mini-game.

Sanctum Sprint Race: Navigate a dizzying obstacle course in this competitive race.

Lessons from the Sky Scavenger Hunt: Players will need to show their mastery of wind, sun and lightning as they search for Sky Crystals and explore hard-to-reach places in the Labyrinthine Cliffs.

New Rewards

Aspect Back Items: Players can compete in the Sanctum Sprint for a chance to earn one of three special back items representing the aspects of wind, sun and lightning.

Personal Quartz Node: Players completing the update will be able to harvest quartz in their home instances, allowing them to craft new recipes.

Zephyr Sanctum Model: Players who complete the Lessons from the Sky achievement will be awarded a miniature model of the Zephyr Sanctum, allowing them to view the ship at any time, even after it has flown away.

New Features

Account Achievement Reward System: Starting with this release, players can unlock rewards like exclusive new armour skins, weapon skins and permanent account bonuses as they earn achievement points. They can also earn laurels, gems, gold, powerful items, and PvP and WvW rewards as achievement scores grow.

New PvP Map – Skyhammer: Players can battle for control of three capture points in the new Skyhammer map.